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Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Kinetics of Lagging-strand DNA Synthesis In Vitro by the Bacteriophage T7 Replication Proteins
Published on: February 25, 2017
Structural and biochemical investigation of bacteriophage N4-encoded RNA polymerases
Bryan R Lenneman1, Lucia B Rothman-Denes2,3
1Committee on Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology, The University of Chicago, 920 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. blenneman@uchicago.edu.
Abstract:
Bacteriophage N4 regulates the temporal expression of its genome through the activity of three distinct RNA polymerases (RNAP). Expression of the early genes is carried out by a phage-encoded, virion-encapsidated RNAP (vRNAP) that is injected into the host at the onset of infection and transcribes the early genes. These encode the components of new transcriptional machinery (N4 RNAPII and cofactors) responsible for the synthesis of middle RNAs. Both N4 RNAPs belong to the T7-like "single-subunit" family of polymerases. Herein, we describe their mechanisms of promoter recognition, regulation, and roles in the phage life cycle.
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